Peer Team Talks Healthy Relationships with Freshman Girls

Throughout the semester, the female members of Peer Team have held Girl’s Group sessions. Meeting every other week, younger freshmen girls can talk with small groups of upperclassmen to ask health questions and discuss issues within the freshman class in a more confidential but casual context. On Thursday, December 17th, following a discussion with an employee of the District Attorney’s office on healthy relationships, Peer Team organized a Girl’s Group that included the entire female freshman class to continue the discussion and offer a different perspective.

Peer Team showed videos of healthy and unhealthy relationships to dismiss misconceptions about what an abusive relationship is or could be. In addition, the girls split into groups and brainstormed healthy solutions to hypothetical relationship issues. Senior and Peer Team member Hannah Fein said that she thought that the videos were “effective because we wanted to show how an unhealthy relationship doesn’t just mean physical abuse—it can be more subtle, and harder to see the signs.” Fein continued, saying that “the ninth graders have had a lot of discussions and presentations on various relationship aspects, and after a series of talks, discussion, and presentations, they still manage to participate and come up with creative solutions.”

Fein said she was surprised when, after the seminar, freshmen approached various Peer Team members to tell that they had seen symptoms that were presented, and Fein was excited to hear they intended to take action with their newfound knowledge.